November 21, 2007 |

I talked about some of these things when I was on with Bob last week, but I thought they were good enough to blog. If you’ve already heard some of them, I apologize, but I wanted to share my random thoughts with everyone, even those people who can’t listen all day.

Thought #1: Does Billick, being an offensive guy, really have the capabilities to turn over the offense to someone else? I mean, not just let someone call plays for a while like Jim Fassel did, but really leave the guy alone, like I assume that he leaves the defense alone. This is not a knock against Billick. This would be difficult for anyone to do. Billick would have to truly come to believe that there is someone better suited to handle and NFL offense than he is. Does he give the impression that he can do that? I don’t know Billick personally. I’ve never spoken to the man except to ask him questions at press conferences, so I am in the same boat as 99% percent of the fans. We see what see on television and we read what we read in the papers. But in seeing this man lead this team for nine years … nine successful years mind you … I think that being a full-time offensive coordinator working under Billick would be an impossible job.

Thought #2: I came across this one while watching the 49ers get stomped by Seattle on Monday night a couple of weeks back. I felt badly for Mike Nolan because since he is a defensive guy, the offensive struggles must leave him feeling helpless, at least until he can fire the offensive coordinator at the end of the season and get a new one. And you know what, if Mike Nolan gets fired as head coach, he will get another job as defensive coordinator somewhere in this league. That’s when I started thinking. If Brian Billick gets fired, will he ever get an offensive coordinator job again? Maybe he’d get head coaching offers right away and it wouldn’t matter, but say he didn’t, and say the inevitable broadcasting gig didn’t work out. Would any NFL head coach hire Billick to run his offense?

Thought #3: While the Ravens are now left to play out the string, do you realize how big the game at Miami may be if the Dolphins haven’t won yet? The Fish have a real shot of going winless. I remember when I was a kid and the Saints went 1-15 and without even looking it up I know they beat the Jets. I remember when I was in high school and the Cowboys went 1-15 and I watched them beat the Redskins on a Sunday night. Could you imagine if the Fish went 1-15 and their only win was against the Ravens? That’s not the kind of memory that you would like to etch into the minds of NFL fans.

Thought #4: If you are invited to Thanksgiving somewhere and you don’t want to show up empty-handed but you’re someone like me who doesn’t want to bring something ordinary, I’ve got the answer for you. SPICED APPLE RINGS! They taste a lot like a candy apple, minus the bowling ball like exterior. You should be able to buy it at any grocery store. They come in a little jar and it will cost you about ten bucks, but people will love it, especially kids. So if you want to be a hit with the nieces and nephews, SPICED APPLE RINGS! You can’t go wrong.